The Calling
by Courtney Lott
Summary: Slaves Can three boys survive the Night World?
1. Reminisce

When Axel Marks opened his eyes a realization hit him so hard that he nearly lost his breath; he'd been caught, again. The walls of the wooden carriage and the ache in his head all pointed to that conclusion. He sighed, leaned his head against the wall and let the rhythmic sound of hooves clip-clopping lull him into a state of nostalgia. His mind took him back seven years to the streets. It was Halloween Night and two weeks before he and his friend Toby had run from the boy's home. Three days later, after the desperate search for the two runaways, everyone gave up on Toby Collins and Axel Marks; Axel caused trouble, and Toby appeared to be a lost cause. The next day they met up with a friend from school; Sterling Daniels. He lived nice and snug at home but mostly hung out on his own. Sterling teamed up with Toby and Axel and for two weeks the boys spent their time on the streets stealing food and causing all sorts of trouble. But Halloween Night changed their lives forever. The sound of Toby's voice echoed in Axle's head as he sat with his eyes shut in the carriage. It still sounded small, timid and almost frightened. He remembered the words so clearly and distinctly that it sounded as if twelve-year-old Toby sat next to him in the cart. He felt biting wind cut into his face and he heard Toby speak: "I hate Halloween." "Awe you're such a wimp Toby," Axel teased. "Yeah, don't be such a baby Collins," Sterling's cocky voiced echoed in the alley. "Are you afraid the Boogie Man's gonna get you? Huh? You scared?" For a moment Axel saw Toby's face so clearly that he nearly jerked up in surprise. His head cocked to one side and for a moment he looked like a little schnauzer puppy. His uncanny green eyes stared at the ground for a moment and the moved up to his friends. He said nothing, but he didn't have to, they knew his answer, and knew it was best to drop it. Axel changed the subject. "Let's go do something, I'm gettin' cold sittin' here." "Sure, but what?" Toby asked. "I don't know, let's just start walking and maybe we'll find it," Axel said. "On Halloween Night?" Sterling asked. "I'm sure it's real safe for three kids like us wondering the streets of New York alone, at night...Halloween Night for that matter. Real bright man." Axel cocked an eyebrow. "Now look who's scared." "Hey man, I'm not scared," Sterling said, his eyes changing colors as they always did. "I'm just not dumb." Toby laughed. "He's scared." In the end, Axel convinced Sterling to walk to a local neighborhood and steal candy from little kids. On the way there the wind howled and the moon cast eerie shadows all around, causing the streets of New York to look like a scene from an old horror film. Every once in a while Axel thought he heard Toby shiver but he could never be sure. Toby's own shadow made him wet his pants. When they were about a block from the neighborhood Sterling started looking over his shoulder. Halfway down the street, lights splashed across the pavement; a large black van creped around the corner; like a wolf on the prowl. Axel and Toby took no notice of it but Sterling continued glancing back as it neared them. As it drew up right behind them he turned and whispered to his two friends, "Run in opposite directions as fast as you can-that car's bad news." Toby took the warning almost before the words had left Sterling's mouth and he disappeared around a corner. Sterling started back the way he came when he realized that Axel was still walking towards the neighborhood. "Axel run!" He yelled. "I'm not joking!" "Why should I run?" He asked. But as the words escaped his lips the van slowed to a halt and the back door slid open. A man, the size Axel imagined Goliath must have been, stepped out onto the pavement. His face almost glowed in the ghostly moonlight and his eyes looked like two endless black holes. For a moment Axel felt the flame of rebellion spark inside of him and paused to face the monster-but suddenly, as the giant hand reached down to grab him, he found himself running. He jumped on the hood of the car and used the momentum to propel himself off towards town. It seemed like hours that he ran. His legs grew numb from the cold, the wind cut his lungs with shards of ice, and his eyes burned. But he never stopped; when he slowed down the sound of pounding feet grew loud behind him and he sped up. /Why is this happening? / He wondered. /Why do they want to...what do they want to do? / Axel turned a corner and, just like in horror movies, the ghostly man stood in his way. He saw him but could not stop his speed. Running into him was like running into a brick wall, only harder. The last thing he saw before the all-consuming darkness took him was the man leaning over him with something in his hand. 


	2. Foreign Stuff

The first thing Axel remembered in waking up was turning over and vomiting Sterling's shoes. He'd never reacted well to drugs and these foreign ones were no different...except his reaction to them was much worse than any nausea he had experienced before. It burned down to his core and through his veins and he felt that if he hadn't already thrown up all of his internal organs he would soon enough. For a moment the nausea subsided and he rolled against the wall and stared around. Not much of what he saw made since to him. Six wooden walls surrounded him and reminded him of a story he had read when he was still in elementary school. What was it called? He wondered dreamily. Oh yeah, The Boxcar Children...or something like that. He also saw Sterling and Toby. Sterling leaned against the opposite wall with his legs crossed and a grimace on his face and Toby sat in the corner hugging his knees to his chest. But neither of them was sick. Great, he thought. I'm the weak one. The nausea returned, he heaved for a few more minutes then sunk back into unconsciousness. 


	3. The Imph

When he woke again he still felt ill but not so severely. He pushed himself up against the wall and looked around again. Sterling sat a few inches away from him now, eyes shut, arms crossed and Toby lay asleep in the corner he had been huddled in before. There was not much else to look at: just four wooden walls, a ceiling and a floor. "Feeling better?" Sterling asked without opening his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," Axel huffed. Sterling laughed. "Liar." "So where are we?" Axel asked. For a moment Sterling kept his mouth shut and simply sat quietly. The sound of pounding hooves filled the silence and Axel's head pounded. Then Sterling broke the silence. "We're in the heart of the Night World." Axel raised and eyebrow and looked over at his friend as if he'd lost his mind. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "The Night World is all around us," Sterling said, sounding very old all of a sudden. "It's full of vampires and werewolves and shape shifters and witches. We've been around for thousands of years and have created our own rules to protect us from humans. You and Toby are now slaves of the King of the Night World." Axel fell to the side in an uncontrollable burst of laughter. Once the attack subsided and his checks could no longer take the cramp of smiling he supported himself with one arm and looked up at his friend. "And I thought those drugs did something to me," he said. "They've made you go crazy." Sterling looked at Axel for the first time and raised his lips in a snarl.  
  
Axel felt his eyes widen involuntarily as he watched his friend's teeth take on new frightening sizes. They looked like knives made of pearl: beautiful but deadly. New realities pounded him from all sides. The realization hit that Sterling was actually telling the truth, that he was not human, and then the words he had said before resurfaced; You and Toby are now slaves of the King of the Night World. What had he meant by that? "So...what are you?" Was all Axel could manage. "A werewolf, actually considered lower class," he said. He made a sound through his lips that resembled a laugh. "So, if you're part of the Night World, then why did they kidnap you too?" The storm in his mind was slowing now and thoughts were forming their proper patterns again, which only brought more confusion. "Because I don't like to play by their rules and I need to be taught a lesson," Sterling laughed. "I ran from my parents so they wanted me to be put back in line-my parents live here anyway." "Here? Where is here?" Axel asked. "It's in the middle of a valley no one can find because of all the spells put on it," Sterling said. "I can't remember where it is exactly." Axel peeped out one of the holes in the walls. The landscape reminded him of something out of a storybook; deep green grass, amazing blue sky with lovely trees reaching their arms to it. He turned back to Sterling. "I'm nobody's slave." It came out as a hiss and it shocked him how much he actually sounded like a snake. He half expected Sterling to laugh but the ever-changing eyes merely shut and he shook his head. "You don't have much of a choice." "Wanna bet?" The wagon stopped and nineteen-year-old Axel opened his eyes, the images of the past floated away. The doors of the opened and the man with the dark eyes, Rolf, reached in and grabbed Axel by the bicep. Axel knew better than to struggle now, the time to fight was later. No use in getting the crap beaten out of him just yet. Rolf half dragged, half carried Axel through the village right up to the castle gates. As he entered the castle the memory of his first day there swept over him, and he saw Angelina. Her picture remained perfectly kept in his mind, untouched by the work of time: her small round face, her hair that looked like ringlets of gold, her sparkling blue eyes contrasting against her ivory skin. No matter how much he loathed her, she'd always appear an angel in his eyes. She'd gone from the little bratty cherub, to the spoiled little angel. He also saw her father, King Aster. This picture remained the same as well; it only grew darker through each passing year. His eyes were dark like Rolf's but full of an evil power that sometimes even bewildered Axel and Sterling. Memories flooded back. They pulled the three twelve-year-olds from the wagon and dragged them to the courtyard. There, Sterling's parents pulled him to the side by the ear and started reprimanding him. However, Sterling pulled one of the best acts Axel had ever seen. By the end of his lamenting and hugging his parents were in tears forgiving and forgetting as if the entire event had been some episode off of the Disney Channel. Then, everything went still: the King and his daughter entered the courtyard. An eerie glow surrounded them and everyone-even Sterling-went silent. All the color had washed from Toby's face and Axel saw his hands shaking. King Aster loomed nearly two feet above Rolf and Axel actually felt a slight twinge of fear, but then the King spoke. "Angelina, here are the new slaves," he said in a voice that vibrated through the air. "Take your pick." The little girl, who didn't even come up to Axel's chin, put her hands behind her back and circled the two boys. Her lacy pink dress rocked like a bell and the sun bounced off her hair causing it to appear on fire. She stopped in front of Axel and reached out a little hand as if to touch his chin. But Axel had lost his patients. He swatted her tiny hand away and took a step back. The watchers gasped and Toby whimpered beside him. "Did I say you could touch me?" More gasps from the crowd. The little girl's mouth dropped open and her eyebrows rose. For a moment she studied Axel's face and then smiled. At that moment she no longer looked like a little girl but an imp ready to cause all sorts of mischief. Axel knew immediately that he was in trouble. "I want him." 


	4. Never Give Up, Never Surrender

> > Rolf dragged Axel to the dungeon-he knew every step by
>> 
>> heart now.
>> 
>> The only uncertainty was what punishment they would inflict
>> 
>> on him this time.
>> 
>> Water dripped from the ceiling and light peaked through
>> 
>> cracks in the walls- a taunting the prisoners.
>> 
>> Rolf pushed one of the cell gates open and shoved Axel in
>> 
>> with such force that he flipped over and hit the wall.
>> 
>> He spit blood and heard the door shut, but when he stood
>> 
>> and turned the last person he wanted to see stood before
>> 
>> him-Vylette, Angelina's lady in waiting, and his stalker. Ever
>> 
>> since Axel had been brought into slavery, she had tried to
>> 
>> seduce him every way she knew how, and unfortunately
>> 
>> was one of his usual tortures. One corner of her mouth turned
>> 
>> up as she watched his reaction. She walked towards him
>> 
>> and he backed away the closer she came. When his back hit
>> 
>> the wall she came so close that their noses almost touched.
>> 
>> She didn't scare him; he just didn't want to be any closer to
>> 
>> her than he had to be. Vylette cocked her head to the side
>> 
>> causing her midnight black hair to fall over her shoulder.
>> 
>> "Axel, why do you always run? You always end up back here,
>> 
>> with me to deal with. Your friend Toby is a good boy. He
>> 
>> always does what he's told." She slid a long nail across his
>> 
>> cheek, and as before with Angelina he slapped her
>> 
>> hand away. Her black eyebrows came down over her black
>> 
>> eyes and from beneath her cloak she pulled out a long knife.
>> 
>> The light that poured in through the cracks bounced off the
>> 
>> blade and metal hilt. It was an ancient knife, passed down for
>> 
>> generations. The King's own private sword maker had
>> 
>> created it, welding the hilt in the shape of a dragon
>> 
>> and making the blade so sharp that it could not be touched
>> 
>> with out cutting the skin. The King had a witch place a spell
>> 
>> on it so it would never dull, and it worked. Every time Axel ran
>> 
>> Vylette used it to give him new marks in new places.
>> 
>> Needless to say there was not an inch of his back
>> 
>> that did not have some sort of design traced in it. Vylette
>> 
>> smiled. "You know Axel, there is a way you can avoid this
>> 
>> punishment," she said toying with the collar of her dress and
>> 
>> stepping even closer to him-if that were possible. "I don't
>> 
>> know why you've rejected me all these years," she whispered
>> 
>> in his ear. "Am I not pretty enough?" Her lips grew full as she
>> 
>> pouted. Axel tried not to grin. Vylette was beautiful-there was
>> 
>> no doubt about it, but he would never sleep with her. It went
>> 
>> against everything he had grown to stand for in the seven
>> 
>> years he had been there-human freedom, never submit,
>> 
>> never give in. "Sorry sweet heart," Axel said crossing his
>> 
>> arms and leaning his head back a little farther. "I'm not
>> 
>> gonna play your game." The black eyes filled with fire and
>> 
>> Axel felt the blade fly down his chest.
>> 
>> She grabbed him by the shirt and threw him on the ground;
>> 
>> all the air rushed from his lungs as his back hit the stone.
>> 
>> Then, she fell on him, pinning his legs under hers and his
>> 
>> arms with her hands, her face only a few inches from his, the
>> 
>> knife cut into his bicep. "One day Axel," Vylette said. "You'll
>> 
>> see." She leaned forward and kissed his neck softly. She
>> 
>> brushed her tongue across it, then sunk her teeth in, gnawing
>> 
>> at the flesh to cause more pain. But he kept his mouth shut,
>> 
>> biting his lower lip to keep himself quite. /Never let them see
>> 
>> ya suffer, / he thought. Between that and the knife grazing his
>> 
>> arms Axel knew he'd need a few days to recover.
>> 
>> That meant only one thing; he'd have to be babysat by Toby
>> 
>> and Sterling.
>> 
>> /Great. /


	5. The Babysitters

> Axel groaned before he even opened his eyes. He knew exactly where
> 
> he was and was less than pleased to be there. However he could not
> 
> open his eyes because they were swollen shut. Everything burned,
> 
> especially his arms.
> 
> "Hey, the rebel's awake."/Sterling. /
> 
> "He is?" Axel then heard boxes crash and someone fall
> 
> on the ground. /Toby. / "Axel, can you hear us?" "Toby, the dead could
> 
> hear you right now," Sterling said. "Yeah, yeah I can hear ya. How bad is
> 
> the damage? I can't seem t' be able to get my eyes open." "This is the
> 
> worst I've seen yet." A new voice said. /Katherine. / "Kat, what're you
> 
> doing here?" Axel asked. "We almost lost you this time boyo," the young
> 
> girl said dabbing something cool and soft on his burning skin. "The boys
> 
> had to call in reinforcements." Axel kept quiet for a moment. In
> 
> Katherine's soft voice he heard the fear produced by a strange love that
> 
> she possessed for everyone – including their captors. That sound always
> 
> elicited two reactions in his own heart: one of a desire to stay put and
> 
> cease causing her this fear, and another of a desire to find a way to free
> 
> them all. It bothered him enough when they beat Toby for his mistakes,
> 
> but when they beat Katherine... He felt her hand in his and he squeezed
> 
> it. "Please..." Katherine said. "Please don't..." Her words halted with a
> 
> sob. "I'm sorry I failed Kat." "No...I just can't stand seeing you get hurt. I
> 
> know why. The men would never kill you, Angelina likes you too much, it's
> 
> Vylette isn't it?" "Aw she's pissed because I won't sleep with her," Axel
> 
> laughed. "Don't flatter yourself," Sterling said. "Why would I lie?"
> 
> "Because you can't get it out of your head that you're not irresistible," his
> 
> friend said. "But I am." "Get over yourself boyo, you're not as hot as you
> 
> think you are," Katherine said. "I'd take you all down if I wasn't lying here
> 
> blind," Axel said. The door swung open and bounced off the wall. By the
> 
> sound of tiny feet and the smell of lilies Axel knew it was Lilly, Angelina's
> 
> own personal messenger. "Axew, th' pwincess Angewina wiw be
> 
> sending fow you showtwy," Lilly announced. "Se wiw send
> 
> twanspowtation fow you so's you don have to wawk." "Great," Axel
> 
> moaned. "Another headache."


	6. Codes

Every bump, every movement brought on a new excruciatingly painful

sensation. The sound of horses' hooves scraping over the rocks and pebbles

pounded in Axel's ears and he grimaced, as much as he could that is. But he did

not complain, pillows covered Angelina's carriage so the bumps did not cause as

much pain as they would have if he had been in the prisoner carriage. The

princess' favorites normally enjoyed the same luxuries she did – if you pleased

her of course.

The carriage came to a halt and almost immediately the door opened. Axel

expected to see the solemn Rolf but in his place stood Angelina. A red cloak

draped over her head and flowed down her shoulders, throwing a shadow over

her porcelain face and golden chestnut hair. Her ruby lips did not form their usual

catty smile and her dark blue eyes looked much larger than usual. She climbed

into the carriage pulling the door behind her and then knocked on the wall with her

knuckle. Immediately the carriage surged forward again.

"You, my friend, are quite stubborn." _It's not safe._ Angelina signed with her

hands. "If you weren't already in such bad shape I might have to do something to

you my self." _Was it Vylette again?_

"Oh, thank you for your mercy oh great princess," Axel mocked. _Ya think? That _

_woman is incorrigible. _His hands burned, but it was the only way for him to

communicate with Angelina when others were around. _But, I did make it to the _

_mountains this time._ He grinned his lopsided grin and only half regretted it.

"Do not mock me slave," Angelina said. _Close but no banana huh? I guess we _

_might have to try something a little different next time. _

"Ah, save it for someone who cares," Axel said. _Just call me Harriet Tubman. _

_Only our pursuers are a bit more dangerous. I got Katherine's little sister out _

_and the triplets. I don't think anyone will notice until lunch though._

"Of all the insolent little-" _I just wish there was something more I could do._

"Your like a broken record, I've heard it all before." _You cover us as far as you _

_can. The kids are always safe by the time Rolf catches me._

Angelina clapped her hands as hard as she could creating a slapping sound.

"OK, that hurt." _I wonder how long they're gonna buy this? It has to hit the fan _

_one of these days – it can't last forever._

"That's what you get for insolence!" _Just pray they never figure us out. _"Driver,

take us back!"

_ Yeah, especially not your father. He's not dumb enough to hurt me because _

_he knows it won't matter, and he'd never physically hurt you, but if he caught us _

_he'd go after everyone else, and for their sake we have to be careful._

_ I just wish it didn't have to be this way._

_ I know, I know._


	7. An Unlikely Hero

Axel lay on his bed with his eyes shut listening to the wind blow through the trees. He did not move a muscle except for his eyes for every time he did a new sensation of pain flashed across his skin. His mind went with the wind back in time to the orphanage. He heard laughter, cruel laughter, and he felt the heat burn inside him, a heat that took him years to understand…

In the corner of the rec. room, 10-year-old Toby backed further and further into the wall, trying to avoid the crowd of older boys that surrounded him. His wide green eyes darted from boy to boy and his hands grasped the sides of his jacket. By this time his knuckles had turned white. He looked like an animal backed into a corner and for a moment Axel thought he looked a bit dangerous as most cornered animals do.

"Come on Collins, we know you have money in your pockets, don't make us tip you again," the biggest boy said. "You remember what happened last time don't you?" He gave Toby a little push.

Those green eyes looked more frightened and more fierce than before.

"Come on baby!" One of the other boys said.

Axel sighed and cracked his knuckles. This kind of stuff made him sick. In a few strides he crossed the room and cleared his throat behind the group of bullies.

Immediately they turned and the first boy raised an eyebrow in an attempt to appear confident, even though Axel knew the fear that filled his eyes.

"Something wrong Axel? You want some of this dweeb's money too?" He asked.

"David, you are pathetic," Axel said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Whataya talkin' about Ax.?"

Axel grinned a lopsided grin and before anyone could react he had David pinned against the wall with his forearm smashed against his neck. "You bother this kid again and I'll rip your throat out, ya got it?"

David nodded, his mouth hanging open like a fish caught out of water. His pupils were the size of pushpins.

Axel glanced back at the gang of bullies. "Tell your dogs to back off."

David still stood with his mouth hanging open.

"Do it!" Axel said more loudly.

"Back off," David said weakly. "This kid's under Axel's protection."

Axel grinned and patted David's cheek. "That wasn't so hard was it? Now get out of here." He gave him one more push and then shoved him to the center of the rec. room.

For a moment the bullies gathered around their leader and stared. Axel waved with his fingers. "Bye now." Then cracked his knuckles again. The bullies ran off.

Axel turned to Toby, who cowered all the more. "Listen kid, if they bother you again let me know, I'll take care of it." He turned again on his heel and started to walk to claim the TV set.

"Hey."

Axel looked over his shoulder to see Toby come up beside him.

"Why'd you help me?" He asked.

"Four on one," Axel shrugged. "Didn't like the odds." He continued walking towards the TV.

"But, but yesterday you took on five guys," Toby said.

"Face it kid, I had a better chance," Axel said. "First of all I grew up on the streets, second I picked the fight, and third-" He turned to look at Toby. "Well you're not a fighter."

Toby looked down at his sneakers.

Axel ran a hand over his chicken feather hair. "Come on, I'm about to steal the TV uh - "

"Toby."

"Toby, who knows, maybe there's something good on."


	8. Have You EverCried?

The door to Angelina's room opened slightly and her father stepped halfway in. Angelina did not look away from the window, but continued watching the people, vampire and human down below. The sun sank behind the mountains surrounding their kingdom turning her porcelain skin red and reflecting off her elaborate robe. She held her arms folded over her chest and lifted a perfect brown in thought. Even to her father she looked like some ancient Greek goddess standing in judgment over mere mortals, and this pleased him tremendously. It showed that all his hard work had not gone to waste; that she one day would be an equally brutal leader, no love, no mercy.

King Aster walked up behind her as silent as a prowling cat and put his hands on her shoulders. Still she remained fixed, as if set in stone. "Your slave has been brought back," he said. "And I was told that you disciplined him despite that fact that he'd already been punished rather severely by Vylette."

Angelina continued to stare.

"Hard and cold as ice. Just like your mother," the king said. "When you were a little girl you seemed a bit too spoiled to become as great a woman as your mother, but now I see differently. You will spread our rule some day. Then we will no longer have to live in these accursed mountains in fear."

"_We_ do not live in fear," Angelina said. "We create it. Being a myth to the humans provides a perfect shield for our way of life. It gives us more power."

"Well spoken," King Aster said. "If only all of the subjects saw as you see, then we would have more slaves and more lands."

Angelina still did not look away from the window.

"If only everyone kept their slaves in line as you do…"

The sun disappeared behind the black mountains.

"If only we could erase the rebellion from your slave's mind…"

The light above the mountains dimmed to gray.

"It is a wonder that he continues to run away…"

Stars shown above the castle.

"That kind of stubbornness is admirable though, if he was one of our own I think I might be rather fond of him…reminds me of myself when I was young."

The crowds below had thinned and animals alone frequented the streets. Angelina sighed, turned, though she still did not look at her father, and walked to her bed.

"Well, you must be tired," King Aster said. "I'll leave you." He walked from the room and shut the door behind him.

Angelina put her robe on the bedpost and crawled between the silk sheets. She stared at the ceiling and put the back of her hand on the empty pillow next to her. For the next hour she tried not to think of Axel; of his blue eyes that held no fear of human, vampire, werewolf or witch, his smile that when unguarded filled even the darkest rooms, his strength that went beyond mere muscle, his stubbornness…but the more she tried not to think about him, the more she did. A never-ending cycle. His voice…his laugh…it had to stop. There could never be a 'them', though they worked hard to free as many slaves as possible, they themselves would always be slaves; Angelina to her position, and Axel to the vampires. Never a them, not unless they wanted all they worked for to be destroyed, not unless they wanted to suffer torture and death, not unless they wanted the kidnapping of young children and the secret tyrannical reign of the vampire to continue. There were times that Angelina wished with all her being to be human, she wished and cried so hard that sometimes she thought she'd die, sometimes she even wished that she would die. But too many people, innocent people needed the cover she provided them as Axel lead them through the woods and to the mountains, to many people suffered a great deal more than she, Axel suffered a great deal more than she.

Angelina rolled over onto her face and cried herself to sleep.


	9. Blood and Screams

Axel ran. The pack of werewolves disregarded him entirely and focused only on the little boy that scrambled up the mountain. He

appeared to be moving slowly; tripping over ever rock, every root, every change in the terrain. Axle grabbed up a stone without breaking

stride and hurled it at the wolves; still they kept after the boy. Every second they got closer; the boy would never make it at the speed he

was running. How could he have been so careless? He had tried too soon after his last escape. /Stupid./

Axel flung another rock at the wolves and tried with every ounce of energy he had to get between the boy and the wolves. Sweat

poured down his face, back, and chest sending fire through the still open wounds from his last escape. His chest burned as his lungs fought

for air and every muscle cramped. He ran faster than ever before.

The boy fell. His foot had caught a root and he now lay on his face momentarily shocked by the blow. The lead wolf jumped. Axel

jumped. Blood filled his vision; he didn't know who's it was nor could he recognize the screams. He jerked forward and his face met the

dusty floor of his hut. Dust filled his lungs and he coughed violently. The taste of blood filled his mouth but he knew now it was his own.

/It was just a dream/ he thought.

"Nightmare?"

"Sterling?"

"What was that all about?"

For a moment Axel said nothing. His head filled with screams and his mind with that little boy so desperately trying to escape.

"Axel?"

"I won't let it happen."

"What?"

"No one else is going to get hurt on account of me. If I have to die so be it."

"Axel, you're talking crazy. It's going to be okay."

Axel looked at Sterling and an image of his wolf form came to mind. There was something different about it though, he wasn't just an

animal; Axel could see the human in his eyes. He relaxed back into his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "You're right," Axel said. "It's

gonna be fine."


End file.
